Two deny kidnap allegations

Two Austrian men charged with kidnapping a compatriot and injecting him with a poisonous substance categorically denied the allegations when they were questioned by the police, the court heard yesterday.

Inspector Carmelo Bartolo explained that Konstantinos Anastasiou filed a police report in which he claimed that Bernd Derrant and Marco Cristoph Martinz had lured him off a main road, injected him with a substance, which they told him was poison, and told him he had hours to live unless he submitted to their demands.

Derrant and Martinz were arrested and questioned but although they admitted being with Anastasiou at the time of the incident they denied Anastasiou's allegations even after being confronted with him at the police headquarters, the inspector said.

Inspector Bartolo testified before Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera in the compilation of evidence against Derrant, 27, and Martinz, 25, who are pleading not guilty to kidnapping Anastasiou with the intention to extort money and threatening him with death in Maghtab on August 23 at about 1.30 a.m.

The two men are also charged with maliciously administering or causing Anastasiou to take a poisonous or noxious substance and using violence to compel him to do their bidding.

Derrant alone is also charged with the possession of a knuckle duster.

Inspector Bartolo explained that he was present when Derrant released a statement in which he explained that Anastasiou had employed him as a special agent to retrieve some stolen jewellery.

Derrant told the police it was agreed that Anastasiou's mother was to come to Malta on August 26 with the money that Anastasiou owed him for carrying out the job.

But when Derrant learnt that Anastasiou's mother could not make it to Malta he told him that if he did not pay him he would report him to the Austrian authorities and that instead of working for him he would work against him.

The case continues.